Bowling game



June 4, 1957 E. w. RuTHl-:RFORD BOWLING GAME 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 6, 1956 ""lllllllll Arraewn June 4, 1957 E. w. RU'rHl-:RFORD BOWLING GAME Filed Airil 6, 195e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [ya .wv ,6fm/Pfam *ffl U ArroQ/vey United States Patent BGWLING GAB/IE Evelyn W. Rutherford, Garden City, N. Y. Application April 6, 1956, Serial No. 576,722 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-127) This invention relates to bowling games and is herein illustrated Ias embodied in a game especially adapted to 'be played indoors, in ordinary houses.

Games played by rolling balls against a group of upright pins are widely used, especially out of doors or on bowling alleys, and generally involve the serions disad vantage that either la player must go to the knocked down pins and set them up -according to a specified rule or pattern, or else a complex pin setting device is employed.

These pin setting devices are expensive to install, often somewhat awkward in operation, and occupy expensive space behind the pins, and cumbersome.

According to the present invention, the pins are replaced by swingable battens or flaps radially hinged on a -rotating wheel, and are easily swung on their hinges when struck by a rolling ball such as an ordinary croquet ball, swinging against the tension of a light spring which may catch on a lug and hold the swung ap.

In the form shown the device may be set close to a wall, leaving space only for the rolled ball to clear the wheel and leave it free to turn.

The flaps may carry various numeral values so a numerical score may lbe computed for each player, and a players turn may end with a certain number of balls rolled.

At the end of a turn a player or spectator -in a household'may take the -few vsteps to the wheel and snap the caught aps back to radial position, ready for the next player.

The wheel may be continuously turned by a geared down electric motor, and the rate of turning so set as to add to the hazard of play `for a large score.

The form shown includes a demountable frame which enables the device to be conveniently stored in a household closet with the uprights separately set.

If desired there may be included a cross bar adapted to lie on the oor behind Vthe wheel to catch a ball rebounding from a wall at the lrear, and thus keep the ball out of the way of a later struck ap.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l shows a face View of the wheel and adjacent parts.

Fig. 2 shows a rear View of the same.

Fig. 3 shows a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 shows some details of a flap and its adjacent parts on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional side view, including the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a -horizontal detail seen from the arrows 6 6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is an exploded detail showing an end View of a support for the wheel journals and the standard into which it fits.

In the form illustrated a wheel 10, shown as a solid Patented June 4, 1957 by side close together but swing independently of eachA other.

The front faces of the ilaps 16 are normally held ilush,

with the `front face of the wheel 10 by wire springs 19 held by screws 20 and washers 21 to press-the iaps 16 forward by pressingV their stepped ends 22 on lugs 23 on` the backs of the aps 16. The screws 20 are shown as radially inward from the flaps, perhaps a third of the distance -from the hinges 17 toward the shaft 24.

To play the game the device is usually set at one end of a room and the wheel 10 is set revolving slowly by start-ing an electric mot-or, shown -in ya reduction gear box 25, as by plugging its cord 26.

The most satisfactory speed of the wheel 10 is usually about six revolutions a minute, obtained by belting a small wheel Z7 on the shaft 2S of the gear box 25 to a larger wheel 29 fastened to the rear extension 30 of the shaft 42li fastened to the wheel 16.

T-he wheels 29 and 27 preferably carry slotted faces to hold a cord or other small belt 31.

When the wheel is thus rotating a player at a distance rolls a ball, often a standard 3 inch croquet ball of Wood or fairly hard elastic composition, toward the rotating wheel, with the hopes of knocking a ap or flaps 16 rearwardly, so the ap will be caught by its spring 19 and held.

A yconvenient size for an indoor wheel is thirty inches in diameter carrying sixteen aps 16.

lf the flaps are numbered, the player may endeavor to hit a single flap scoring 10, or two flaps 6 and 4.

When a ball has struck and swung back a flap or flaps it usually continues on. lt may Ibe prevented from rebounding frorn a wall behind the wheel 10 by suitable devices for keeping the ball clear of all flaps on the turning wheel as by a wedge shaped back bar 32 over which the ball rides easily when rolled by the player, but which blocks a rebounding ball by its hat rear face 33.

The game device of the present invention :is shown as especially adapted to be disassembled readily so vas to be readily stored in a household closet, and easily set up when wanted.

To this end the standards 14- and 15 are provided with slotted tops 34, so that a neck 35 (see Figs. 7 and 8, Fig. S showing only the top ends of 'the standard) fits into the slot 36, while an enlargement 37 ybeyond the neck 35 e catches and holds the ends of the standard 14 or 15, hold- -ing the parts interlocked together, but easil', separated.

In Fig. S the slot in the lcrossbar 13 is shown enlarged at 13a near the standards so as to permit the wheel to continue to turn even though a hatten has been pushed back by a ball.

The standard 15 is shown with a wide or square base 38 carrying xed to it a pyramidal end board 39, `and a central triangular brace 49 projecting away from the wheel 10. Y

The standard 14 is similarly constructed, but carries the motor Aand vgear box 2S in -a corner between the brace and end board and the end board is shown cut away at 41 to clear the belt 31.

The wedge-shaped stopping bar 32 is shown at Fig. 6 and adapted -to be Aremovably caught by its tenon 42 in the mortise 43 of the base 38.

Thus the stopping bar 32 adds to the stability of the set-up device.

To further steady the set-up device and to take ythe wie@ i d pull of the belt 31, the cross bar 13 may carry a thrust -brace 44 .adapted to bear against the `adjacent standard welll below the top of the stan-dard.

'The deyie'isffeadily' disassembled by lifting-the `crossbar'`13 att-he end opposite the belt, loweringtlie crossbar end to slacken the belt, lifting the otherend. ofthe cross'bar'to free it,rfreeing the belt, storing the Wheel still journalled in the cross bar slot, lifting thestandards tofreethem from the tenons 42, storing the standardsand then the Wedge-shaped bar. Y V

Having thus described one form of the invention in some detail, 'what is claimedvis:

l. In a gamedevice, a wheel -having peripheral flaps, a springrfor each ap holdingeach ap `in either of tvvo posit-ions,` a cross bar having a Yslot in which the wheel turnsfjoiirnals for the Wheel on t-he cross bar, a separate standard -for veach end of the .cross bar and each having a top adapted t-o removablyinterlock with the cross bar, atfbas'es carrying the standards,- and a ball controlling bar ladapted Vto removably interlock with each of said bases and having `a wedge shaped section highest at the back to arrest balls rebounding to `the front.

V'-2.- I n a game device, a wheel having peripheral aps, a spring holding each flap, journals for said wheel, a cross barhaving a slot in which said wheel turns on its journals and having enlargements near each end adapted to pass a svvung flap, standards carrying said cross bar and `removably intermeshed with it, `a shaft turning With lthe Wheel in said journals, a pulley fast to said shaft, a motor carried by one standard, and a belt driving said pulley by said motor.

3. In a game device, a Wheel having peripheral aps, a cross bar having a slot in which said Wheel turns, journals carried by the `cross bar supporting said wheel, standards for supporting said cross bar and adapted to be re-V movably interlocked with it at its ends, a motor device for turning said wheel slowly by the mot-or and `carried by one of the standards, and a ball control device bar `adapted to be removably interlocked with the standards to connect them at their bottoms.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 8, 19.416 

